a giant leap forward

The past few weeks have been a jumble.  Summer, a little travel, an illness requiring medication, lots of sleep and gallons of water to try to reinflate me to my usual form, some events, a ton of board work and some still-developing shaping and reshaping of my work life.  It's been nuts.  Part of me knows that when I get too crazy and have too many plates spinning, the inevitability of some sort of unintended slowdown lurks just behind me ready to whack me over the head with one of those precious plates.  It's been this way my entire life, and especially in the past 10 years or so.  I have learned to be better in tune with myself and my limitations, but let's face it, I still go too fast, in too many directions, all at once.  It's just how I'm wired.

I've been working on refining my existence as a consultant and what that means for how I work. And part of this process has made me sit myself down and figure out all this running around.  It's too much.  I love my Segnavia Creative clients and spending time with them is one of the most beneficial parts of how I engage.  But I'm doing it too much - I am simply not funded to travel all over town and sit with whomsoever I'd like, as much as I'd like to believe that I am.  I have recently engaged with my first (as yet, potential) client out of state.  Which begs the question: If I can do that, can't I do this other stuff differently?  Better?  Do I really need to meet with everyone, so often, all the time, all over the place?  Do I need to be one more car on the road?

Which brings me back full circle to a dream that I started poking around last summer - could I live without a car?  There are lots of reasons why this is a crazy thought.  A car is mobility!  Flexibility!  Freedom!  Heck, a car is pretty much expected, is it not?  A car is one of the first noticeable outward signs of success - is it a nice car?  A clean car?  A cared for car?  A car is one of the most obvious external indications of who we are, what our personalities are, what our style is.  We're weird Americans, aren't we?  A car is an indicator of my personal worth or success?  Who the hell decided that?

As I continue on my own personal journey toward building and living this best life (for me), I have come to realize that I don't want a car.  I don't want the entanglement, I don't want the expense and I don't want the parking hassles.  (This summer construction season is grating on me, without doubt...let's see how I feel at 10 degrees and no seat heaters, eh?)  Because while cars are all of the things noted above, they're also many not-so-good things.  A car is expensive!  A car requires maintenance!  A car bears a heavy "green" load!  And let's face it, my bike is way cuter.

I've done a lot of research.  I've crunched the numbers.  I've played with the bus schedule - mapping things and timing things, to and fro.  I've thought about running errands and hauling stuff.  But the reality for me is that I'm ubermobile without a car.  I live and work in my downtown loft and can easily access all the bus lines (2-3 blocks), several HourCars (3-4 blocks), there's a Budget rental on the corner, I have my bike (which can go on the bus too!) and for that matter, I am perfectly capable of calling a cab in an emergency.  I listed out all the pros and cons of the car-free lifestyle I was considering.  And the end result was that I was happier with the list of pros.  I'm pro bike, pro public transportation, pro eco, pro shoe leather, pro car share.  I'm also pro being better organized, focused and thoughtful about where I'm going and how.  And I'm pro $700 each month to do other, more interesting things with.  Yea, I'm definitely pro that.

So I've done it.  As of noon yesterday, I am no longer a car owner.  I am car-free.  I am free.

And I'm exhilarated by possibility.  I fully recognize that there's a fair amount of test driving and trial and error that are going to happen here.  I know that some days taking the bus or arranging a car are going to feel like a pain in the ass.  But having the ability to choose,and the flexibility that comes with not having that car payment?  That's pretty fantastic.  And it's one more step towards creating the life that I want for myself.  One big step, actually...in very comfortable shoes.